The subject invention relates to low-slope roofs that are typically found on commercial and industrial buildings, and in particular to an improved fire and moisture resistant fiberglass-based facer that is impervious or substantially impervious to the passage of hot gases of combustion, water, and water vapor through the thickness of the fiberglass-based facer and thereby to prefabricated faced roofing board composites for use on low-slope roofs that includes one or more polymeric or predominately polymeric board layers and are faced on at least one major surface with the fire and moisture resistant fiberglass-based facer of the subject invention.
Commercial and industrial buildings typically have roofs with low-slope roof decks. The roofing systems for these low-slope roofs typically include one or more layers of a low-density roofing insulation, a high-density layer of roofing cover boards that overlie the low-density roofing insulation layer(s), and a waterproofing membrane that overlies the layer of cover boards. If not protected, the layer(s) of low-density insulation, such as a low-density polymer-based foam insulation, can be partially crushed or otherwise damaged from worker traffic over the insulation, the placement of heavy objects on the insulation, the weather, and other causes commonly encountered in roofing construction. The layer of high-density roofing cover boards that overlies the one or more layers of low-density insulation, protects the more fragile low-density insulation from damage, provides a suitable substrate for the attachment of the overlying waterproofing membrane, and augments the insulating function of the low-density insulation. The uppermost waterproofing membrane layer overlying the cover board layer protects the underlying cover board and insulation layers from moisture and other adverse climatic conditions. Normally, these three components (the low-density insulation boards, the high-density roofing cover boards, and the waterproofing membrane) of the roofing system are separately manufactured and separately and successively applied to the low-slope roof deck. While these roofing systems function very well, there has remained a need to provide an improved prefabricated faced roofing cover board composite, an improved prefabricated faced roofing insulation board composite, and an improved prefabricated faced roofing panel composite that includes at least an insulation board layer and a roofing cover board layer. With the use of such improved prefabricated roofing board composites, roofing systems for low-slope roof decks can be improved and/or the time, labor and costs associated with the installation of roofing systems on low-slope roof decks can be reduced.